


The Sendaways

by jacesmangoes



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Emotional Manipulation, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Humanstuck, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mental Health Issues, Minor Violence, Multi, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Past Abuse, Psychological Trauma, Substance Abuse, Underage Substance Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-05-07
Packaged: 2018-01-15 20:11:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1317700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacesmangoes/pseuds/jacesmangoes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John Egbert did some things he wasn't proud of. He likes to think that it was because he was going through some messed up stuff, but really, he doesn't know why. It just kind of happened. Now he's being sent off to boarding school in another state, where the kids are just as screwed up as him and you have to keep up to stay alive. Once you've hit rock bottom, things can't possibly get any worse... right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, thank you to my good friend's for editing this for me; it's a thousand times better thanks to you lovely people!
> 
> Secondly, some notes about the story.
> 
> In this universe, the alpha kids are not the guardians of the betas (or vice versa). They are related to them in different ways, whether it's siblings, cousins, etc. Just to avoid confusion.
> 
> It should also be noted that Alexandria is a city in the state of Louisiana, in case anyone was confused about that.
> 
> Also, this is Homestuck, so be prepared for a lot of "coarse language".
> 
> *** (Sidenote: I changed the part with Gamzee and Tavros to be a bit happier; can't have too much drama at the beginning of a story! Please reread if you haven't already, don't want people getting confused about unresolved drama...)

_Sunday, October 19th_

\-- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG] at 7:02 --

EB: hey jane. the train just left the station, can you tell dad i made it on alive so he doesn’t freak out?  
GG: Of course, John!  
GG: You know, I’m really going to miss you while you’re away.  
EB: yeah me too. i hope things are okay at home...  
EB: don’t burn the house down or anything, okay?  
GG: Somehow I don’t think that will happen.  
EB: i know, i was just saying...  
GG: I know that.  
GG: But wow, big brother is finally out of the nest... It’s going to be very strange without you here, John.  
GG: I have to say I’ll be sad when you’re absent at breakfast tomorrow.  
GG: It will just be me, Dad and those awful harlequins.  
EB: i feel bad just thinking about it  
EB: haha  
EB: but i know you’ll manage  
EB: you always do jane  
GG: I know, I am quite responsible.  
GG: Hoo hoo hoo! :B  
GG: But I should let you enjoy your train ride.  
GG: I’ve heard the view on the way into New York is one of the most cinematic vistas in the world.  
GG: Wouldn’t want you to miss out on such a sight.  
EB: wow really?  
EB: well i’ll take a picture if it’s as great as you make it sound  
EB: talk to you later jane  
GG: Happy travels, John!  


\-- gutsyGumshoe [GG] ceased being pestered by ectoBiologist [EB] at 7:09 --

John Egbert tucked his phone into the pocket of his jeans and settled into the smooth leather of his seat. This was one of Alexandria’s nicer trains, he thought. They actually had fabric that didn’t peel your skin off as you sat in it. The intra-city trains weren’t particularly well-funded, and many of the seat’s inner workings were exposed; being poked in the rear by a metal spring was quite the common occurrence in his hometown. He wouldn’t be surprised if the local hospital had an entire ward set aside for people with that problem. Hell, it probably did. 

John sighed thoughtfully and turned to the window beside him. The lush country landscape rolled past in a blur as the train chugged down the railway out of the state. He’d miss this place, that was for sure. John figured that there wouldn’t be many farms or fields in New York City. Not really any place where he could feel the freedom of the wide open plains. 

He closed his eyes and pictured the acres of empty land near his house. Before everything happened, he and Jane would go to those meadows and race each other to the edge of the woods. Though John wasn’t the fastest kid out there, he loved the feeling of the wind against his cheeks, the breeze on his skin…

Jane would always accuse of him of getting distracted while they raced. Sometimes he didn’t even finish because he’d fall down in the grass to enjoy the air. He chuckled to himself at the memory, wishing that he didn’t have to go somewhere so far away. Far away from the fields, from his home, from his family… 

He opened his eyes a crack, satisfied to see the expanse of the countryside still sprawled out before him. Smiling sadly, he leaned his head against the window. He would take in the view while he still could; soon he’d be cooped up in a dorm room in the middle of the city with two other boys. Goodbye personal space, hello loud music at three a.m. and socks on the door.

“Ticket please.”

Jolted out of his thoughts, John snapped his head to the left to see a uniformed attendant staring expectantly at him, hand outstretched. Although her uniform made her seem older at first, the girl appeared to be about his age. 

John remarked that she was quite pretty: short, brown hair that curled up at the ends, slightly slanted hazel eyes with that winged eyeliner that girls seemed to like so much, and skin a shade of caramel that reminded him of the trip he took to South America with his father the year before. Yes, this girl was very pretty. So pretty, in fact, that it distracted him from her order, prompting the attendant to clear her throat impatiently. 

Seemingly irritated, she began to tap her hand against her thigh at a methodic tempo, murmuring numbers under her breath as she did. 

Pulling himself back to reality, John quickly nodded and reached into his pocket. He retrieved the folded piece of paper that would get him out of the state and handed it over. The attendant looked at it once before giving it back to him, shooting John a brief questioning glance with her lovely, lovely eyes. She moved on to the next booth.

John felt the heat begin to build up in his cheeks. Of course he was blushing. Quickly, he turned his face back to the window so that no one on the train could see how flustered he was. He didn’t usually ogle at girls like that. Not complete strangers, at least. 

Jane always told him how incompetent he was when it came to the opposite sex. He hadn’t really taken it to heart, but now he knew that it was true. He was pathetic. His eyes stayed glued to the glass window, not quite looking past it, until he heard the click of the door signalling the attendant’s passing to the next car. 

Sighing in relief, John felt his body temperature return to normal. 

_Jesus, John, pull it together. You are not a loser._

The boy looked down at his watch. Seven twenty-one. 

“Only twenty hours and thirty-three minutes left to go,” he grumbled to himself. 

He leaned over and reached for his bag, pulling out a pair of headphones and his copy of Wise Guy. Might as well have some good entertainment to pass the time. 

He set his playlist to shuffle, but still skipped through the first twelve songs because they didn’t quite fit the mood he was going for. That seemed to be a problem he had a lot, actually. Eventually, he settled on How do I Live? (hey, no judgement, it’s a sentimental song!) and plugged the earbuds into the jack on his phone. He had to brush aside a few strands of his scruffy black hair to get them in his ears -- he was long overdue for a haircut, he supposed -- but once they were comfortably in place, he settled into the leather of the chair and opened his book. 

“Harry had one of those little wooden finger choppers that Micky Hades used to sell. The kind where the blade could be removed and clearly shown...”

_Buzz._

Not one paragraph into the chapter, John’s phone vibrated on his lap. Glancing up from his book, he caught a glimpse of hot pink text illuminating the screen. He grinned.

He’d been waiting for Rose to message him all day, ever since he woke up. Eagerly, he unlocked the screen and paused his music, opening the messaging app to see what his friend had written.

\-- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 7:23 --

TT: Heard you made it on the train alive.  
TT: Bet you’re excited to get stuck in a cubicle for the next year.  
EB: oh hey rose  
EB: yeah i can’t say i’m looking forward to that  
EB: but i am really excited to see you!  
EB: wait  
TT: ...  
EB: i don’t even know what you look like  
EB: how am i supposed to recognize you  
TT: I suppose you’ll just have to listen for my quick wit and charming personality.  
TT: I should be easy enough to spot after that.  
EB: har har har  
EB: but really it’s so weird  
EB: i’ve known you for four years and i don’t even know what you look like  
TT: Yes you do.  
TT: You know that I have blonde hair and a stunning complexion.  
EB: ok yeah, in theory i know that  
EB: but isn’t it weird that i’ve never actually seen your face?  
EB: i just have this picture in my head  
EB: for all i know you could be a man or something!  
TT: You have my word that I am not a man, John.  
EB: phew! thank god  
TT: But I am curious as to what you look like too.  
TT: I’ll get to know soon enough, I suppose.  
TT: When does your train arrive?  
EB: 3:45 in the morning  
TT: Ah.  
EB: yeah  
EB: i guess i won’t see you until tomorrow then  
TT: It will give me time to prepare my friends for your presence.  
TT: I’ll have to warn them to be extra cautious around you.  
TT: Wouldn’t want to scare off the poor country boy.  
EB: very funny  
EB: i hope your friends like me  
EB: what if they think i’m a jerk?  
EB: what if they’re jerks?  
TT: My friends aren’t “jerks”, and they won’t think that you are one either.  
TT: Don’t worry, John.  
EB: yeah, ok  
EB: well i’m gonna try and get some rest while i can  
EB: i guess i’ll see you soon then rose  
TT: I look forward to it.  


\-- tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 7:31 --

John closed the application and returned to his playlist, setting the current song on repeat. He put the device back in his pocket where it wouldn’t fall out. Resting his head against the window once more, he stared up at the sky which was beginning to turn a beautiful shade of gold. 

The sun was coming up, and soon there would be too much light to get any sleep. John closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to the rhythm of the wheels against the metal tracks and the sound of Trisha Yearwood’s heavenly voice in his ears.

***

_Monday, October 20th_

“Put it away, Gamz, we’re gonna get caught!”

The small boy looked frantically around the parking lot, eyes darting from side to side in search of movement. Movement meant people, and people meant getting caught. Again. He would not let that happen this time. 

But of course, his friend ignored him. He just smirked and brought the joint back to his lips, taking another drag, long and slow. Almost mockingly, he tipped his head back, letting it loll around before tilting forward and blowing the smoke into the boy’s face. 

The smaller one -- Tavros was his name -- began to cough and wave his hands sporadically, trying his best to get all the fumes away from his mouth and nose. They made him sick and queasy, and he hated it. His friend just chuckled, a rough and throaty noise, and ran a hand through his mop of black hair. 

“Come on, Tavbro, no one comes back here this early. Take a mother fuckin’ chill pill and enjoy.”

He held out the joint again, wiggling it around. The boy was tempted, but stepped back again, averting his brown eyes from the other’s gaze.

“I, uh, I want to. But you know what the headmistress said. If you, uh, get caught one more time, they’re gonna make you leave.”

The taller boy frowned, looking thoughtfully at the ground for a moment. For a second, it seemed as if he actually cared, which was a change, Tavros thought. But then he began to laugh. Quietly at first, and then slowly ascending into wild, uncontrollable snickering. He stumbled forward and then backward, steadying himself on the wall with two arms braced against the brick.

Tavros cringed, worried that his friend was having another episode. Timidly, he stepped forward and attempted to speak to him.

“Jesus, Gamzee… are you okay?”

The tall boy, Gamzee, just huffed another laugh, shaking his head.

“Make me leave?” he asked, his voice trembling on the brink of hysteria, “how are they gonna make me mother fuckin’ leave when I got nowhere else to go?”

The boy was silent. Something in his friend’s voice made him uneasy; there was a spark of mischief that caused him to wonder exactly what he planned on doing if he did get kicked out. Whatever it was, Tavros sure as hell didn’t want to find out.

Mustering his courage, the boy reached out and rested his hand on Gamzee’s shoulder. His friend went stiff, posture rigid and fists clenched. There was a long silence, tension in the air so thick that Tavros didn’t dare move. The lack of noise was almost unbearable. 

He began to think that coming back here wasn’t such a good idea. If Gamzee snapped again and had another breakdown like last month, there weren’t any nurses around to calm him down or get him back to normal. It was just him. Just useless, incapable Tavros who couldn’t even order a Big Mac without making someone angry. If things went wrong back here, he was completely, utterly screwed--

Without warning, Gamzee whirled around and took both of his friend’s shoulders in his large hands. His pale blue eyes locked themselves onto Tavros’, who was paralyzed with fear. 

“Gamz, you, uh, you need to calm down and--”

It was only a second before he leaned down and brushed their lips together. 

Tavros squeaked a little bit; the kiss was unexpected, but not uninvited. Gamzee was generally more affectionate when he was calm, which was a good sign that he hadn’t gone off the deep end yet. Relief washed over the shorter boy, and he allowed his hands to slide up into that mop of hair that he thought was so adorable. 

He felt Gamzee smile against his face, and then the strong grip of his arms as they curled around the dark skin exposed at his waist. He felt safe, like home, and stopped worrying about getting caught for only a moment… 

“Hey, fuckass! What the flipping hell did I say about getting stoned around here?!”

Tavros’ eyes widened at the sound of a voice, and he immediately tugged himself out of Gamzee’s embrace. If they got caught, it was lights out for the both of them. He whipped his head around, searching for only a second before his eyes landed on a short boy, only a bit over five feet tall, with an angry face and curled lips.

His arms were crossed aggressively over his chest, and he tapped his foot on the ground as if he were waiting for a response from a small, disobedient child. Tavros looked down at the ground, feeling much like a child himself at this point.

The taller boy just laughed, reaching down to wipe a smudge of white makeup that had rubbed off on Tavros’ face when he kissed him. 

He groaned and swatted his hand away. A hot red blush burned in his cheeks.

“Not to mother fuckin’ do it,” Gamzee mumbled in reply, looking away from Tavros. He turned with a dopey grin, facing the short boy who had rounded the corner and was now storming towards the both of them. 

“That’s right, you blithering son of a fuck. Not to fucking do it!” he yelled. His normally pale face was now beet red with anger. He usually had a short temper, and an even shorter one when it came to his friends being ‘general shitwits’ as he would say.

Fire burning in his grey eyes, he lunged toward Gamzee, who quickly dodged and hid himself behind Tavros. Despite the new boy’s obvious rage, Gamzee was stifling a laugh.

“Gamzee! Jesus!” he yelled, waving his little arms over his head. He flailed about, trying to get a hand on some piece of clothing he could use to drag him away. But every time he went right, Gamzee dove left. They danced around the middle boy as he desperately tried to stay out of the conflict. 

“Gamzee!” Tavros yelled, trying his hardest not to laugh at their antics, “Just listen to Karkat and go home! You’re gonna knock me over!”

And that was precisely what happened. Karkat lunged forward to make a grab at Gamzee’s shirt collar, but his grasp was easily dodged, and Gamzee swung right. Sadly, Tavros was to the right, and the two collided and were sent to the ground, knocking the wind out of both of them. Tavros groaned, a dull ache forming at the base of his skull, and pushed Gamzee off of him. 

Immediately, Karkat charged forward. He tugged Gamzee off the ground and began to rage on about how he and Tavros were both ‘so dead’. Still on the ground, the short boy tried to sit up to get a glimpse of what was going on. Out of the corner of his eye, Tavros could make out Karkat’s short, little form dragging the much taller Gamzee away by the collar of his shirt. 

“You are in so much fucking trouble, shitsponge! When we get back, I swear I’ll hang you to the fucking ceiling fan by your eyelids…”

He rambled on all the way into the building, with only the sound of Gamzee’s stifled laughter to indicate how far away they were. Tavros stayed frozen on the ground, his head and back still sore from the fall. As the door to the school slammed, he groaned and reached for his phone. 

\-- adiosToreador [AT] began pestering terminallyCapricious [TC] at 9:46 --  


AT: gAMZEE,,,   
AT: jESUS, YOU NEVER WAIT FOR ME,   
AT: lIKE, EVER   
AT: i’LL MEET YOU IN THE CAFETERIA LATER, I GUESS ]:/   


\-- adiosToreador [AT] ceased pestering terminallyCapricious [TC] at 9:46 --  
  


Dropping his hand back to the ground in resignation, Tavros looked up at the sky as the clouds passed. 

Hey, at least he got some alone time out of it. 

***

John checked his map of the school a third time, still not sure if he was in the right hall to find his room. He’d spoken to the headmistress after a long bus ride from the train station, who had given him his schedule, rooming information and a long list of school rules that he had to have memorized at some point (he probably wouldn’t get around to it).

Unfortunately, he had spaced out a little during the part where she gave directions to his dorm. He thought he’d heard something about turning right at the library, but it could have been left… or any other direction, really. 

He had no idea. 

John figured he’d just wander down the halls until he ran into someone approachable and then ask for directions, but so far everyone he’d passed looked like they wanted to either kill him or set something on fire. 

Needless to say, he was still walking.

It was a nice building; much better than his forty year old high school back in Louisiana. The hallways were swept clean of dirt and papers, with hardwood floors and mahogany paneled windows. Paintings and plaques lined the walls, showing off the various achievements of the students over the years. 

Every now and then he’d walk past a room with the door open. Giving into curiosity, he’d look inside. From the glimpses he’d had, John could see that the rooms were just as nice as the rest of the school. Four poster bunk beds with matching wardrobes, desks in the corner, some with desktop computers, others with laptops, he thought he might have even seen a mini fridge or two. 

Maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him; he hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning and was starting to get a little famished. But then again…

As he rounded a corner (there was the entrance to the south wing for the third time -- he couldn’t be going in circles… could he?), John heard a voice. It sounded angry, like the person was yelling at someone, but he couldn’t hear anyone saying anything back. 

_Jeez_ he thought, _the people here really are crazy_.

Suddenly, the large wooden doors to his right swung open, and the source of the yelling -- a small, brown haired boy in a turtleneck and jeans -- charged forward and into the hall. His hand was firmly grasping the arm of a much taller boy; this one was lanky and thin, with messy hair that hid most of his features. John raised an eyebrow and stepped backwards into the wall as the little one continued to stomp forth.

“I fucking told you not to smoke anymore, grubfucking imbecile, it’s going to get you thrown out!” he screamed, his tall friend not making any attempt to reciprocate the conversation.

“And then where are you going to go? Nowhere, that’s where! Jesus, Gamzee, you never think about these fucking things!”

“Excuse me?”

The short, angry one stopped in his tracks, spinning around to face John who had interrupted his rant. The boy raised an eyebrow, and John immediately felt sheepish.

“Who the ever loving fuck are you?”

John swallowed. Definitely not the best person to ask for directions. Maybe if he just stopped talking and left, he would be okay--

“John Egbert,” he replied, his voice betraying him.

_Crap._

“Well John _Egbert_ , this is clearly not a good time.”

The boy frowned and clenched his jaw, yanking on his friend’s arm for them to leave, but the taller of the two remained still. A slow, dopey grin spread across his face, and John smelled the faint scent of marijuana on his clothes. What a bunch.

“Need directions, mother fucker?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly.

John nodded quickly, not wanting to anger the brown haired boy any more than he already had. 

“Where to?”

John froze for a second. Where had he been going? 

The first boy made an annoyed sound and tugged on his friend’s arm again, but the second boy still wouldn’t budge. This earned an angry groan and a huff.

“Umm,” John looked down at his paper, remembering the room name.

“Room 413, in, er, Derse wing, I think.”

“Oh jesus,” the short one groaned.

 _What now?_ John wondered, looking over both boys’ faces for some sort of explanation.

“Well look at that,” said the tall one, who John decided looked much like a mop, “you and Karkles are mother fuckin’ roommates.”

Mop-head laughed a little to himself, while Shortstack seemed to be attempting to kill John with his glare as he stood there. 

John, on the other hand, was a little taken off guard. This was his roommate? This short-heighted, short-tempered kid who already seemed to have it out for him? Great work, John. Day one and you’ve already got someone ready to kill you in your sleep. He sighed.

“Um, cool. Think you could show me where our room is, uh, Karkles?”

Mop-head threw his head back in a fit of laughter, his whole body shaking with the movements, while the other just buried his face in his hands and seemed to try to conceal his rage.

 _Not very effectively,_ John thought.

“It’s Karkat. Just. Fucking. Karkat.”

John blushed again, the heat returning to his cheeks and his eyes averting themselves to the floor. 

“Right. Just Karkat. Got it.”

Karkat rolled his eyes.

“Fuckass.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note: I changed a bit in the Gamtav scene last chapter, so if you haven't reread it, please do that now. It does influence the story :P
> 
> Sorry about the inconvenience, and enjoy this chapter!

_[Still] Monday, October 20th_

The girl clutched two textbooks against her chest as she walked down the hall. Her heeled boots made a satisfying _click_ when they hit the tiled floor, setting a steady rhythm on her way to the library. It was almost a dance, she thought: her footsteps, the swish of her long, pale brown hair (acorn, her boyfriend called it, like the nut she was), the tapping of her fingers against the soft binding of “Biology 301”.

She wished she could lose herself in the beat of it all, but at the moment she was just too damn stressed. Two failed quizzes in a row plus a C- on her last biology project meant she had a lot on her mind. Far too much, actually, if you asked her. Which was why she was making her way to Diamond hall, prepared for a good three hours of studying for the next test. She would bring her mark up if it was the last thing she did.

She would _not_ visit her aunt and uncle the next weekend with yet another failing grade. No, she would make them proud this time. She was sure of it.

Abruptly, a hand shot out to her right and grabbed onto her arm. She was whirled around, letting out a yelp of surprise as she spun, coming to face a looming pair of hazel eyes dead-on.

“Eridan!” she squeaked, stumbling backward and struggling to keep her balance without dropping her books. He grinned, large, beaming and shark toothed, in such a way that made his eyes squint. Oh, he was on cloud nine today.

“Feferi,” he greeted, pulling her gently back to her feet and restoring her balance. She beamed at him while adjusting her glasses, and, unusually, he smiled back.

 _Well he’s in a mood today,_ she thought to herself; he didn’t usually use her full name, nor did he smile much, either…  

Eridan leaned forward, pressing a light kiss to his girlfriend’s forehead. Feferi giggled, brushing his hand off of her arm and returning his kiss with one on his cheek.

“Why the smile?” she asked, taking his hand and leading him to a nearby bench. It was one by the large glass wall, which she liked because it allowed the autumn light to pass through and illuminate Eridan’s face. She liked to see his face. It was a nice one. Today there was a strand of copper coloured hair cast casually across his forehead, and Feferi smiled. Usually he was so well groomed; he must have been in a rush to get to her if he didn’t notice the imperfection in his ‘do’.

Her boyfriend adjusted the blue scarf that hung around his neck (a gift from an ex that Feferi wasn’t particularly fond of but Eridan couldn’t bear to part with-- the scarf, that is) and sat down next to her on the bench. He pulled out his phone to display the lock screen, a picture of him in a full-body suit, holding a fencing sword in one hand and a golden trophy in the other. Feferi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear while peering over to look.

Eridan spoke, then, presenting the picture with pride: “Well the fact that I’m goin’ to championships could have somethin’ to do with it…”

Feferi let out a sharp gasp, nearly dropping her books as she jumped in her seat. Her dark brown eyes went wide, her mouth open in a stunned “O”.

“You won?” she asked, nearly shouting in excitement. Eridan nodded, pride gleaming in his eyes, and the girl shot forward to wrap her arms around him. Her embrace was so tight that she was afraid he might choke, but he just ‘humphed’ a little and patted her on the back.

She was so proud of him; Eridan had been training for months, no, _years_ to win this fencing tournament. Every day after classes he would head down to the gym to train with his partner, spending nearly five hours there every day (seven to eight if it was a weekend). Because of this, she didn’t see him much, but she didn’t mind. She knew how much the sport meant to him, and she’d give anything to see that rare smile of his as often as she could.

Feferi pulled away to give him some breathing space. Unable to hold back her excitement, she eagerly spewed out the rest of her questions.

“How were the matches?”

Eridan scoffed. “Easy.”

“Did you win them all?”

“Of course.”

“When are the state competitions? Oh! Could I come to watch?”

Her irises twinkled with elation, finally granted an opportunity to see her loved one in his element.

“I suppose you could tag along; it’s next month on the eighth.”

“Oh Eridan, that sounds absolutely fin--”

Feferi broke off mid sentence. The other was still looking at her expectantly from behind his glasses, an eyebrow raised to question her sudden pause.

Slowly, she let out the rest of her breath, attempting to process the thoughts and dates that were presently crowding her mind. Her eyebrows creased together in a tight line, and she looked back up with a frown that, frankly, she did not like wearing one bit.

“Saturday the eighth… does this not ring any bells to you?”

Her muddled frown was briefly reflected on Eridan’s face as he attempted to piece together the information he might have been missing.

“I…”

He didn’t seem to have an answer.

With a huff, Feferi leaned back into the far corner of the bench, arms crossed aggressively over her chest.

“November eighth! The Peixes ball and dinner!” She watched as recognition fell over Eridan’s face, his expression now blank as he mulled over what this information meant.

“You swore you’d be there this tide!” she sighed, plaintively.

“Er… Fef, this is kind of a big deal… it’s state; you know this is important…”

“And my family isn’t?” she spat, nearly shouting. Her sudden outburst startled them both; she didn’t mean to snap at him, but she was just plain frustrated. He always skipped out on her like this -- he hadn’t been to any of her events since they had started dating. In fact, now that she thought of it, he hadn’t even formally met her aunt and uncle. Just a wave or so in the hallways when they were passing.

Eridan groaned.

“I didn’t mean they weren’t important, I just meant I have other things to be concerned about now. Plus I don’t feel too comfortable goin’,” he shrugged, averting the eye contact she was desperately trying to maintain.

“And why is that?” she barked.

She swore Eridan blushed a little. Was he… embarrassed?

“Your sister kinda… freaks me out a little. She’s intimidatin’, Fef.”

Feferi rolled her eyes.

“For the last time, she’s not even my sister! She’s my cousin! Cod, Eridan, do you even know _anyfin_ about me?”

There was a beat of silence, and she felt a pang in her chest when he didn’t look up at her. He really _didn’t_ know anything about her, did he? Sure, he knew when her birthday was, what classes she had, what she did in her spare time… but it didn’t go much beyond that. She’d never told him her favourite colour or what her childhood was like or what she wanted to be when she graduated from the hellhole of a school they attended…

He didn’t even know why she was there in the first place.

Suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to cry (or punch something, whichever was easiest), Feferi swallowed the lump in her throat and stood to walk calmly down the hall. Her textbooks were still tucked under her arm, but she didn’t feel much of an inclination to study at the moment. She just sort of wanted to bury her face in a pillow and scream.

“Fef, stop, I need to--”

“Eridan, please don’t. I can’t talk to you anemone-more. I’ll…” she felt a dampness on her cheek and picked up her pace immediately, “I’ll text you later.”

 _It always has to happen like this,_ she thought, hopelessly. Even that clever use of a fish pun couldn’t cheer her up.

And with that she was gone, turning the corner and heading to her room in Prospit wing. Her boots clicked against the floor again, but it didn’t make her feel like dancing this time. It was less of a jive and more of a funeral march, and nobody in their right mind wants to dance to one of those.

***

As it turned out, John had been walking the wrong direction the whole time. Derse hall was actually a right turn from the _observatory_ , not the library; he had been headed towards the kitchen and laundry rooms, the boys had said to him. At the moment they were walking in the _right_ direction, down a hall with purple wallpaper and dim, flickering incandescent light glowing from the fixtures on the walls.

Karkat was saying something -- it seemed like instructions, or maybe a reprimandment -- but John had tuned him out long ago. Whenever he tried to respond to anything Karkat said, the other boy would answer him with a glare and an angry ‘shut up, Egbert’. He seemed to prefer calling John by his last name, but he didn’t really mind. He thought it sounded kind of cool, actually. Like a nickname that wasn’t _really_ a nickname. ‘Egbert’. He smirked.

A pair of grey eyes appeared abruptly in front of him, causing John to sway backward to avoid running face first into his new roommate.

“God, Egbert,” Karkat groaned, clearly resisting the urge to facepalm, “you’re not even fucking listening to me, are you?”

John opened his mouth in protest but then thought better of it and shook his head sheepishly.

Karkat rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. We’re here: room 413.”

John looked up from his acquaintance to take note of the numbers that were nailed to the door. Sure enough, they were there, gleaming gold against the dark wood.

 _413_ , he thought, laughing a little, _just like my birthday. Huh._

With a hand still clutched to Gamzee’s shirtsleeve, Karkat pulled a tarnished silver key out of his pocket and inserted it into the lock above the doorknob. He turned it once; there was a clicking noise and Karkat was immediately shoving his friend inside, leaving John to follow them in, tentatively.

“Make yourself at home I guess,” said Karkat, gesturing to the room.

“Thanks,” John murmured, setting his bag down and looking around in awe.

The room was huge; it was far bigger than the others in the last hall he’d been in, and much larger than his old room back at home. This one had space for three beds -- two bunks and a double -- with a wardrobe in the back left corner and a microwave and mini fridge on the right. In the same area there seemed to be a lounge of sorts; a red leather couch with assorted pillows was pushed up against the wall, and two multi colored bean bag chairs sat on either side of it. The furniture was all angled towards one retro-looking television in the corner with various DVD’s and video games tossed around it.

John had to concentrate to keep his jaw from dropping. This couldn’t be his room; it was too flawless, too outrageous, too…

Too good for someone like him. There had to be a catch. Asbestos in the walls, a rat infestation, something that made it less perfect than it seemed to be…

He was yanked out of his thoughts by the sound of a door slamming behind him; he spun around to see that Karkat and Gamzee had left through the front entrance, presumably to go where they had been headed before they ran into John and had to direct him back here.

Picking up his bag from it’s place on the floor, John started over towards the only empty looking bed. The double and the other bunk already had customized blankets and posters on the walls around them, so he figured the one with generic white sheets and a single pillow was probably the appropriate bed to take.

Tossing his duffel onto the mattress, he opened the zipper compartment and began sorting through his belongings. There were a few sets of clothes and his book, a bag full of toiletries as well as his wallet and various school stuff. But other than that, John didn’t have much on him. Most of it had been left back at the house for when he visited on holidays, assuming the school psychologists deemed him fit to leave the premises…

“Hey Zeddemore. What’re you doing in here?”

John froze at the sound of a voice behind him. He thought he’d been alone. Clearly not.

Quickly zipping up his bag, he turned slowly to the back wall of the room, which he hadn’t been able to see when he came in.

Sitting there was a boy who seemed to be about his age with light blonde hair and a pair of shades that obscured his eyes. He was sitting at a computer desk against the far wall, turned to face John so that his arm rested on the back of the chair. His eyebrows were raised, indicating that he was just as surprised as John to find someone else in the room.

“Uh, Zeddemore?” John asked, taking a tentative step towards the new guy, who was probably another one of his roommates.

The guy pointed to the white sweater John was wearing, and he looked down.

“Zeddemore. You know, like the Ghostbusters…” he looked up at John, his eyebrow still lifted in that inquisitive expression, “you have seen it, right?”

John quickly nodded. “Yeah,” he said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

He’d forgotten he was wearing that old sweater. Jane had bought it for him last christmas; he was way out of his Ghostbusters phase at the time, but she knew that. It was more a gesture of remembering the past than one of celebrating present interests. Jane was funny that way; she liked to remind him of things he’d forgotten every once in a while, just to see the look on his face as he sorted through his mind to place them.

“Yeah,” the other guy replied, parroting what John had said. Not in a mocking way, just a casual ‘doesn’t really matter to me’ type thing.

“I’m Dave, by the way.”

John smiled a little and stepped forward, holding out his hand. The boy shook it and nodded lightly, probably examining John from behind his aviators.

“I’m John Egbert,” John replied. Dave nodded again, then released John’s hand and turned back to his computer.

 _Dave…_ he thought, mulling it over… _where have I heard that name before?_

And then suddenly it came to him.

“Wait, Dave Strider?” John asked.

Dave lolled his head a bit. “That’s me.” He didn’t look away from his website: something featuring poorly drawn artwork and a whole lot of comic sans…

“You’re Rose’s friend then!” John exclaimed.

So he had finally met the elusive Dave Strider. Rose had told John a lot about him over Pesterchum when they talked. Apparently he was really into music and photography, and had some weird thing against puppets.

 _“This one time,”_ Rose had said, _“it was April fools, and we were all walking back to our rooms after hanging in the courtyard. We went by Dave’s room first, but when we got there his door was ajar, and all the lights were off. We were pretty freaked out, and when Dave went in and turned on the light, the entire room was filled with creepy and erotically posed puppets. Dave just stood there; I think he might have been in shock. He didn’t talk to any of us for a week after that. He was probably suffering some strange psychological damage…”_

John tried his best not to laugh at the story, wanting to spare himself the embarrassment of explaining to his new acquaintance why he was rolling on the floor for no apparent reason.

“Yeah,” Dave said again -- it seemed to be his word of choice today, or maybe every day, John didn’t really know.

“That’s really cool, because--”

Interrupting his attempt at making conversation, John’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Clearly not getting anywhere with Dave (who was still intently scrolling through that website of his), John took out the device and checked his most recent messages. Not at all to his surprise, it was Rose, checking up on him after his arrival.

\-- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 10:16 --

TT: Are you at school yet? They’re all positively dying to meet you, John.

John smiled, excited to meet all of Rose’s other friends as well.

EB: yeah i just made it to my room.  
EB: i met dave, he seems like…  
EB: well he seems interesting i guess  
TT: Yes, he’s a little bit cold at first, but once you get to know him he’s a great guy.  
TT: He just wants to come across as ‘too cool for school’.  
EB: well he’s doing a good job then  
EB: do you want to meet up? i can see if i can find directions to get somewhere else…  
TT: A few of us are in the cafeteria right now for our free period. Ask Dave if he can show you where it is.  
TT: I need to talk to him about a few things anyway.  
EB: um, okay. see you in a few minutes!  
TT: Adieu! 

\-- tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 10:16 --

John locked his phone and tucked it back into his back pocket. Reaching into his bag to grab a sweater, he called back to Dave.

“Hey Dave, would you mind showing me--”

“Already on it,” Dave replied, twirling his room key around his finger while standing by the door.

John frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but the other boy just shrugged nonchalantly.

“I read her messages over your shoulder.”

John felt his cheeks burn red -- he wasn’t sure why, he just didn’t like the idea of someone else reading his personal messages -- and looked down at the ground.

“Uh, okay,” he muttered, “which way to the cafeteria then?”

Dave opened the door and held it with his arm out like an old butler.

“Right this way, sir.”

This earned a meek laugh from John who followed out into the hall. Dave told him to walk straight ahead, and he did, not attempting to make conversation for the first couple of minutes; he was still a little abashed about Dave reading his first impressions without John knowing. He silently observed the moving shadows cast by the angled shades of the wall lamps. There was a strange smell in this part of the hall: something his sister would have labelled as ‘old pipe smell’.

“So,” Dave said, breaking the ice, “you come here and the first person you meet is Karkat. What’d he say to you?”

John chuckled and looked up at Dave, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Well, he rolled his eyes a lot and called me a variety of… _creative_ names, so…”

Dave laughed out loud, a sound that echoed in the wide halls of the old school.

“Classic Karkat.”

And then a second later:

“That means he likes you.”

John felt a grin tugging at the sides of his mouth. He didn’t know why, but that idea made him smile. There were actually people here who regarded him somewhat fondly. He missed that feeling.

“Yeah,” he said, straightening his posture and looking straight forward. John could see the cafeteria at the end of the hall, bustling with people who were just finishing up their free periods and coming in for an early lunch.

“I guess I like him too.”

***

Feferi sat alone in the cafeteria, staring down at her phone and the twelve unread messages that were clogging up the home screen. Ten of them were from Eridan, attempting to apologize but just coming across as more of a jerk, and the other two were from her cousin, angrily telling her to hurry up and ‘give her sweater back before you get a fork through the face’.

Clenching her jaw to prevent herself from crying in the middle of the room, Feferi deleted those messages and opened the ones from her boyfriend. Maybe they were actually meaningful this time…

\-- caligulasAquarium [CA] began trolling cuttlefishCuller [CC] at 10:23 --

CA: fef i messed up  
CA: or glubbed up  
CA: or wwhatevver it is you say  
CA: look the point is wwhat i said wwas really stupid  
CA: maybe i could go to the next dinner  
CA: wwhenevver that is  
CA: and i wwont evven make faces at your wweird cousin  
CA: i promise  
CA: let me make it up to you  
CA: please fef

The last message was sent thirty seconds ago. Feferi clutched her phone, the force of her iron grip threatening to shatter it if she held on for another second. Luckily, she didn’t. Releasing her hold on both the phone and her emotions, she let it clatter to the table top and dropped her head into her arms. She released a single sob, not wanting to draw attention to her stupid, pointless drama. Nobody else should have to deal with this stuff right now.

“Fef,” a voice spoke as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

_No, please, not right now. Any other time, just not now…_

“Eridan, please don’t--” she rose to confront him face to face, but as she stood up, the placement of her foot crossed paths with someone who was walking down the aisle. There was a yelp as whoever it was tripped, and suddenly one side of Feferi’s body was hot and wet and covered in _something_.

She gasped, looking down at her new skirt to see that it’s blue fabric was now soaked with coffee. She groaned.

“Oh my god I am so sorry.”

A girl spoke next to her.

“No, it’s okay, I can get the stain out,” Feferi said, looking up to see who it was that she’d run into.

It was a girl who Feferi recognized from her French class. Aradia, she remembered. The girl wore a mortified look on her olive-skinned face, as if running into Feferi was the most awful thing she’d done in her life. Her mouth was open like she wanted to apologize another six times, but she remained silent.

“It’s really fine,” Feferi reassured again. She didn’t want the girl to feel bad.

“Look I can pay for the skirt-- I mean, I didn’t even see you there-- I’m sorry, I just…”

Before she could protest again and assure Aradia that everything was fine, Eridan stepped out from behind her, arms crossed, defensive position assumed.

“That’s right you’re goin’ to pay for it,” he said, voice riled up and quite irritated.

Aradia’s eyes widened and another round of apologies began spouting out of her mouth, like she couldn’t stop herself. Eridan took a step towards her, causing her to freeze and stop talking immediately. She shook her head to shield her face with a lock of her curly black hair. The mood of the conversation had just gone from apologetic and awkward to outright dangerous. Feferi was about to step in and say something to Eridan when yet another person, a boy this time, stepped between him and Aradia.

“Whoa man, step off. She didn’t mean it.”

The boy seemed to speak with a lisp, which would have made Feferi giggle if it weren’t for the possibility of a full out brawl in a public place. Eridan scoffed at his aggressor (a slim but well-built boy with glasses and sandy blonde hair) and took another step forward. Eridan bared his teeth in the way he _always_ did; he could never let a conflict go once it had begun. He had to be proven fittest every single time.

Feferi braced herself, ready for the poor kid to get pummelled. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he stood between her boyfriend and Aradia, who was staring at him in disbelief.

“Sollux, what the hell are you doing?” Aradia whispered. But the boy didn’t budge.

He just stood there, face blank and posture rigid, even though he was visibly shaking. Feferi admired him for that, but she pitied him for not being smart enough to get the hell out of there while he still could.

 _That poor, dumb kid,_ she thought, _he’s going to get himself killed_.

“I was wonderin’ the same thing,” Eridan taunted, now barely an inch away from Sollux.

He glowered at the shorter boy. “What the hell _do_ you think you’re doin’?”

Sollux was silent for a moment, the tension building as he considered his response. Feferi held her breath, waiting for him to say something. Anything. She glanced briefly over at Aradia, whose face bore the same expression of agonizing suspense. Finally, Sollux spoke up.

“What the hell am I doing? I’m saying ‘fuck you’ to the asshole who doesn’t have the balls to let his girlfriend speak for herself. I’m just stepping in so you don’t have to degrade yourself by hitting a _girl_.”

Aradia shrunk backward in her spot, hand over her mouth in what could have either been fear or guilt. Or both. Feferi played ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ in her head.

Sollux wasn’t shaking anymore. His hands were balled into fists, and his shoulders were tensed in a fighting stance. Eridan said nothing.

Peculiarly, he just looked sort of surprised. He sure hadn’t seen that one coming. Maybe he’d just let this one slide and there wouldn’t have to be any more drama.

Feferi reached out to her boyfriend to call him over. The entire school was probably staring at them now; it was time that they left before someone called the headmistress. Releasing the breath she’d been holding in for far too long, she opened her mouth to speak.

“Eridan, we should go. Now.”

But she’d spoken too soon, because the very next second, Eridan let out an infuriated growl. Aradia gasped, Feferi flinched, and Sollux just stood there, mildly stunned.

And then Eridan slammed his fist into the other boy’s face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow okay so I wrote this one right after I posted chapter 3, but I had to completely redo it because I didn't like the way it was. And then editing took soooo long, so here it is, later than on schedule. Enjoy, nevertheless! ^_^

_Sunday, October 19th  
_ _[Yes, we went back in time]_

\-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling tentacleTherapist [TT] at 7:20 --

GA: My Break Has Just Begun And I Have Decided That Now Would Be A Good Time To Check Up On You  
GA: How Has Your Day Been So Far  
GA: I Assume That It Is Going Well Due To The Fact That I Have Not Received A Single Angry Voicemail From You  
GA: Are Our Friends Behaving Themselves  
GA: Is Karkat Behaving Himself  
GA: I Told Him Not To Harass Anyone While I Was Gone  
GA: But He Probably Didnt Listen To Me  
GA: That Would Be Much Like Him  
GA: Deliberately Disobeying Me Simply To Spite Me While I Am At Work  
TT: Kanaya! You didn’t even give me the chance to say hello!  
GA: My Apologies Rose  
GA: Hello  
TT: Hello Kanaya.  
TT: I’m doing fine, thank you for asking.  
GA: And Your Day  
TT: It was fine too.  
TT: Oh, go ahead with your rant. I know you’re dying to, anyway.  
GA: Thank You  
GA: Ive Just Been More And More Concerned About Him Lately  
GA: He Seems To Be Experiencing Adversities In His Relationship With Gamzee  
GA: And It Hurts Me To See Him Always Trying So Hard To Keep That Dissident In Order  
GA: He Works Strenuously To Maintain Their Friendship And He Never Receives A Single Word Of Thanks  
GA: For All Of The Help Karkat Gives Him Youd Think Gamzee Would Appreciate It At Least Slightly  
TT: Hm.  
GA: I Think I Might Equitably Hate Him  
TT: You seem very exasperated today. Did something happen?  
GA: Not Anything Unusual  
GA: My Condition Has Just Been Making It Difficult To Interact With Customers  
GA: It Is Getting Worse By The Hour  
GA: I Believe That I May Have Forgotten To Take My Medication This Morning  
TT: That’s a little ironic, actually.  
GA: Im Glad That My Suffering Amuses You  
TT: I was never the sadist, Kanaya. Just stating the obvious.  
GA: Yes Well Despite Your Delight I Am Not In The Most Jovial Of Moods  
GA: I Think Ill Enjoy The Rest Of My Break In Peace  
TT: Alright then. Give me a call when you’re coming back to school.  
TT: I want to meet up with you before you go back to your room.  
TT: I miss you, Kanaya.  
GA: As Do I  
GA: I Will Contact You Once We Return To The Station  
GA: Goodbye  
TT: Goodbye.  


\-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] ceased trolling tentacleTherapist [TT] at 7:35 --

_Saturday, October 20th_  
 _[Back in the present]_

The cafeteria was surprisingly loud for the amount of people that were inside; despite the fact that there were no more than sixty kids in the room, the large scale of the space was making the sound amplify. John was beginning to doubt his decision to leave the sanctity of his room. Sure, he wanted to catch up with Rose and finally meet all of her mysterious friends, but why did it have to be somewhere where people were shouting at each other across the huge and severely echoey cafeteria? Didn’t anyone have classes this period?

According to John’s new roommate, they didn’t. Second was a free period for many of the older students. After checking his schedule, John made a note that he also had no classes second period. Maybe he’d be spending more time in here than he’d thought.

Dave was currently leading the way down the large tiled staircase and into the main eating area. As John followed close behind, slowly adjusting to the large amount of people, he noticed that this part of the school was much more modern than the rest. The ceiling was three stories tall with a large, circular skylight; the bright sunbeams stretched all the way to the farthest corners of the room. Each of the long wooden tables had a bench on either side, and they were all symmetrically placed on the two levels of the wide room. A railing separated the second level from the open air, and the large single paneled windows on each wall made the room seem endless.

John kind of liked it. It was like running in the fields back home again.

“Dave!” a voice suddenly called to them from John’s left.

Both he and his new companion turned in that direction to see a girl waving at them from a table near one of the walls. John looked over at Dave to see that he was grinning and waving back enthusiastically. The two of them strode over to the group of girls who were now all looking in their direction.

There were four of them in total sitting at the table; two blondes, a brunette whom John recognized but couldn’t place, and an auburn haired girl with a short haircut that flared out at the bottom. The latter was the one who was motioning to Dave, patting the seat next to her for him to sit in.

“About time, Dave,” she said to him, smirking like she’d just said something funny.

Dave made a face at her that John couldn’t see and sat down on the bench. He murmured something like ‘how did you see me coming?’ but John couldn’t make out if that’s exactly what it was. Didn’t make much sense that way, actually…

“John!”

John blinked once and looked away from Dave and the girl he was sitting next to. His gaze landed on a girl standing in front of him, illuminated by the light from the enormous window behind her. She was beaming expectantly up at him -- being nearly a head shorter than he was -- with odd purple eyes that struck him as possibly artificial. There was a strand of hair across her pale face that wasn’t tucked behind her headband like the rest, and she was wearing a lopsided orange hoodie.

“Rose?” he asked, almost sure that it was her. She looked a little different than he had pictured, but the proper and confident way she stood along with the way her voice sounded (had he been imagining it in his head whenever they talked?) assured him that this was his friend.

She nodded eagerly, her eyes twinkling with either the light from outside or something more, before reaching up and wrapping her arms around him. This caught John off guard because she didn’t really seem like the kind of girl who would hug people when she greeted them, but after a good five seconds he gave in and wrapped his arms around her in return.

It felt so strange to be in physical contact with a person you’d only ever spoken to online. Visually, she was a complete stranger, yet he knew almost everything about her. She was like an imaginary friend that had suddenly come to life: something in his head that shouldn’t have been tangible.

When she hugged him it was tight and desperate, like he might evaporate into thin air if she let go. He was a loved one coming back from a long trip; she never even knew she missed him until he was right there with her. He hugged her back just as tightly, resting his chin on her head and smelling her shampoo. It was strawberry or something. John thought it was nice.

Someone, probably Dave, cleared their throat obnoxiously, and Rose pulled away quickly. She wore a sheepish look on her face, something John didn’t think he would see very often after this. Blushing only slightly, Rose smiled and tucked the strand of loose hair behind her ear.

“It’s very nice to finally see you, John,” she said. Her hands were folded neatly in front of her and her composed demeanor had returned. This was more of the Rose he had come to know.

“Yeah, it’s great to finally see you in person too,” John replied, unable to prevent himself from smiling back.

Dave groaned and pushed his hair back in exasperation.

“Guys just introduce him to everyone so we can get going. I’ve got study hall with T-Z in a few minutes and I sure as hell am not being late to watch you two get mushy all up in this place.”

Rose rolled her eyes at her friend but sighed in compliance.

“Alright,” she said, taking John’s hand and pulling him towards the table.

The girl who had been sitting next to Rose before she stood up, the familiar looking brunette, looked up at John from the book she had been reading and gave him a warm, inviting look. John waved at her lamely.

“This is Kanaya,” Rose said, something coy dancing in the tone of her voice, “my girlfriend.”

Kanaya gave Rose a shy glance before reaching out to shake John’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, John.”

John nodded, taking her hand and shaking it. She had a nice, firm grip, not one of those wimpy handshakes that some people liked to give. John respected her for that. He was still trying to place where he’d seen her, though… It was recent, maybe in the last day or so… And then he remembered.

“Hey!” John blurted, finally putting her face to someone he knew, “Were you the attendant on my train yesterday?”

Taking a moment to sort through her thoughts, Kanaya frowned and then nodded.

“Yes, I suppose that was me. What a first impression I must have made with my odd counting. My apologies, John.”

John brushed it off with another overly-delighted grin. “It’s no big deal.”

Kanaya smiled thankfully and sat back down. Rose tugged John down into the seat at the end of the bench and plopped down between in the space between him and Kanaya. She then moved on to introduce him to the other two girls at the table.

The auburn haired girl with the freckles and tinted shades was named Terezi, and she was “a very ‘close friend’ of Dave’s” as Rose had whispered to him when the girl wasn’t listening. Apparently they were some sort of on and off thing, and nobody really knew what phase they were in at the moment. Terezi spoke in a voice that was slightly nasally but not enough to be annoying. She seemed nice enough, although Rose warned him that she could be a little hostile at times. He made a note not to get on her bad side.

The other girl sitting with the group was slumped over and had her face planted firmly in the wooden tabletop. She had the same blonde hair as Rose, but it was a bit longer and curled at the bottom. Rose introduced her as her twin sister Roxy and also stated that she was probably passed out at the moment. She had been out late last night doing “god knows what”, and was apparently skipping her current class to nurse a nasty hangover.

Dave told John that there were more people they usually hung out with, but that they were all in class at the moment. The group then went on asking John the mandatory questions about his life outside of school: where was he from, did he have any hobbies, what was his family like? John made sure to skillfully dodge the questions about why he got sent to the school, and instead distracted them with a story about his sister, Jane.

He was in the middle of telling them about their vacation to the Bahamas the previous year when a loud yelp sounded across the entire room. The tiled walls and high ceiling amplified the noise; the entire room heard and turned abruptly towards it. Everyone at John’s table snapped their heads around immediately in search of the source of the cry. They found it just in time to see two boys tumble to the floor, locked in a death grip.

One was perched on top of the other, relentlessly pounding his fist into the first’s face. John flinched a little every time the boy’s fist connected with its target, hoping that the poor kid’s glasses wouldn’t get crushed. They seemed to be a nice pair, too; people could be easily fixed, but a good, durable frame was hard to come by. There was a girl who had stepped in between the two combatants and was seemingly trying to separate them, but she was only pushed away by the dominant boy who continued to beat the daylight out of his victim.

Dave muttered something under his breath and Terezi scoffed.

“What did you say?” John asked. His interest was piqued; the only fight he’d seen back in Alexandria had been over a peanut-butter sandwich back in third grade. This was quality stuff.

Dave sighed, leaning forward on the table as if to get a closer look at the fight. “I said Ampora’s at it again.”

 “He does this every day,” Terezi groaned. Everyone at the table seemed fed up with this ‘Ampora’ figure, their eyes disinterestedly following the action as it moved from left to right. John wondered what this kid had against the universe to make him pick a fight every single day of the year. Nodding absentmindedly, John turned his attention back to the fight. It looked like the villain was going to win this one…

And then suddenly, possibly the least predictable thing happened. A second girl stepped in from the side and hurled herself at the aggressor. She grabbed his hair with her fingers and used it to drag him to the ground, proceeding to promptly kick him in the side.

Rose gasped and placed a hand on Kanaya’s arm. Terezi laughed a little.

John watched in amazement as the boy who was just being pummeled wiped the blood off his chin and stepped forward to yank ‘Ampora’ up by the collar of his shirt and slam him against the wall. The first girl seemed to gasp but didn’t make a move to stop anything. Wedging his forearm against the other boy’s neck, the new underdog said something menacing before kneeing the guy in the groin and walking away with his female friend. The first girl then rushed to the boy’s side to see if he was okay.

“Jesus,” John muttered, turning to Rose and giving her a look like ‘does this happen often’?

As if reading his thoughts, Rose nodded, rolling her eyes like she was unimpressed.

“That’s Eridan,” she said, motioning to the boy who had seemingly started the fight and was now crumpled on the floor, “I suppose we should give you the ‘low down’.

“Aside from his girlfriend, Feferi -- that’s the one helping him out over there -- he’s basically the richest person in this school. No one’s really sure why he’s here, but we’ve all pretty much come to the conclusion that it’s some sort of authority complex.”

“And the other two are Sollux and Aradia,” Terezi chimed in. “They’re not so popular because they don’t have a lot of money, but they’re nice. We used to be friends, but it’s not really like that anymore.”

She sounded a little sad when she said the last part, but if she was she quickly concealed it with a solid smirk at Dave.

“Yeah,” he added, “around here everything’s pretty much based on money. If you’ve got it you’re cool, and if you don’t then no one really gives you a second glance. Except for those of us who don’t care,” he gestured around the table, “we pretty much like everyone who isn’t an asshole.”

“Or a creep,” Roxy mumbled into her arms, now apparently conscious and listening.

Rose snickered a little. “Right. Or a creep.”

John laughed along with her, happy with his new group of friends. Even if they all had their quirks, they seemed like a cool group of people. Yeah, he could see himself hanging out with them for the next year, or however long he was stuck in this place. Hell, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Hey John,” Terezi said from across the table, “you got any classes today?”

John had to stop and think about that for a second-- did he? He searched his pockets for the papers that the headmistress had given him before eventually pulling out a few crumpled sheets. One of them was the list of rooms in the school, the second was the rules and regulations and the final one was his schedule. He did have classes, but for him they didn’t start until Tuesday. He had today to settle in before continuing with school.

He told Terezi this much and she grinned mischievously at him.

“Think you’d like to join a few of us in study hall?” she asked.

John looked over at Rose who promptly shrugged her shoulders. Great. Now John had to make his _own_ decisions.

“No, I think I’ll stay here and catch up with Rose,” he said, and Terezi nodded.

“Catch you around then,” she replied.

Linking arms with Dave who helped her up from the table, the two set off in the direction of the door, with Terezi turning one last time in the direction of the table. John couldn’t see her eyes through her dark glasses, but he was sure she was winking at him.

“Don't mind her,” Rose said, resting her chin on her palm and angling herself towards John.

“She can be a little abrasive at first,” Kanaya added, “but she’s quite amicable once you get to know her.”

John nodded, hoping that this would be the case.

“Kanaya, dear, would you mind if we went outside for a walk? I’m sure John could use a breath of fresh air.”

Kanaya nodded and scooted out of the booth, taking Rose’s hand once she was standing and helping her to her feet. Rose called a farewell back to her sister Roxy, who kept her head in her arms and made a small, angry sounding noise in acknowledgement. As the couple left, John followed by their side, walking on Rose’s right while Kanaya stood at her left with their fingers intertwined.

Exiting the building, the trio passed through the doors of the stuffy cafeteria to the courtyard outside. John felt a warm beam of autumn sun caress his face, and he tilted his chin up to embrace it. There was a slight breeze passing through, bringing with it the smell of leaves and… and what John assumed was chlorine from the pool that must have been somewhere nearby. He perked up at the thought of an in-school swimming pool. Swimming was one of the sports he actually enjoyed; it was the closest he could get to flying without magically growing wings.

Opening his eyes again, John glanced around the courtyard, which, like everything else in the school, was larger than life. It stretched all the way from the building that housed the cafeteria to a large hall with spiral towers that John assumed was Prospit wing. That was the girls’ dormitory, if he remembered correctly.

In the centre of the pavillion was a fountain, surrounded by wooden benches where one could observe the cherubs spitting water into the pool, collectively positioned around the centrepiece which seemed to be some sort of octopus-like creature. John didn’t find this feature particularly attractive, but he assumed that it fit in nicely with the marine theme of the school. Admiral Conrad Lachance Preparatory School, or ACL as Rose always called it, was founded by its namesake who happened to be some serious navy guy that decided to make everything ocean themed in his own honour. It turned out looking pretty nice, and every headmaster or headmistress after had been an oceanography-obsessed freak, so it all worked out.

At the moment they were passing some hedge sculptures surrounded by art students who were sketching away, and Rose pointed to a bench where the three of them could sit down and watch. As they relaxed under the shade of an apple tree (John got hit on the head once by falling fruit and the girls had a good laugh for a minute) Rose and Kanaya told him about their past few years at the school. Kanaya had been attending for five years, while Rose had only been attending for the last two.

“When I was very young, my OCD prevented me from making friends in my hometown,” Kanaya told him, “It was a small community where everyone was ‘normal’, and I didn’t have many people I could speak to about my condition. My parents constantly told me that it was simply a phase I would grow out of someday, that I was finicky and controlling for the sole reason that I was a child.

“It was immensely frustrating, and if my aunt hadn’t recommended I come here to be regulated, I don’t know what would have become of me.”

She looked down at the grass, suddenly very interested in a particular patch, and Rose squeezed her hand supportively.

John smiled and averted his eyes, looking up at the branches of the apple tree. Someone had tied a string around one of the smaller twigs, but it had been cut and frayed at the bottom. He wondered what it could have been attached to…

“Why are you here, John? If you don’t mind my asking,” Kanaya asked.

John tensed immediately, not wanting to turn around to meet either of the girls’ eyes. He should tell them. He should be honest. But ever since the incident, no one other than his therapists, his doctors or his lawyers had spoken to him about it. His father had ignored it, pretended that it never happened, and his sister hadn’t even been told. John wished she knew so that he could confide in her, ask her how he was supposed to feel, but all of the _adults_ had decided it was best that she be kept out of it. _Preserve the innocence_ , they had said.

Now, he wasn’t sure if he could talk about it with anyone. If he mentioned it, would be break out into tears? Would he get angry? Would he… would he hurt someone?

And what would they think of him, once they knew? Rose would probably be disgusted, ashamed, maybe even afraid… And Kanaya surely wouldn’t want to be friends with someone as messed up as him.

John felt his breathing accelerate and his pulse quicken. He had to block it out, he didn’t have time for another panic attack. If only none of this had happened…

“I’d rather not talk about it,” he said as politely as he could, trying not to show how terrified he was of himself.

Kanaya nodded and returned her stare to the grass. John thought she might have been counting the blades, but he wasn’t quite sure. After two more minutes of silence and thought, John had calmed down and Rose had changed the topic of conversation to their timetables and which classes they had in common. Rose, Kanaya and John were all in AP English together first period, and had the same free period and lunch.

They continued to talk for the next half hour or so, with Rose telling John more stories about their group of friends, and Kanaya occasionally joining in to correct a detail or to add her own two cents to the tale. John thought they made a cute couple; admittedly, he’d had a bit of a crush on Rose when they first started talking online, but he’d always sort of had the impression that she wouldn’t go for someone like him. Now he knew why.

They were pretty much a perfect pair, if you asked John. While they were both smart enough to entertain each other with witty banter and had refined sense of persona, they were also quite different. Rose was practical, sarcastic and concise, while Kanaya was more extravagant, slightly oblivious and tended to ramble at times. They even sat in a way that was complementary, with Rose tucked under Kanaya’s arm, legs crossed in the same direction and hands clasped where they thought John couldn’t see.

He could.

But even with their elevated rates of adorableness, John didn’t feel like the third wheel. He felt like he belonged there with them, as the awkward friend who occasionally looked away while they stole a chaste kiss behind him.

As they walked back to John’s room to let him finish setting up, Rose looked down at her watch.

“Oh damn it, I’m going to be late for Culture Studies! John, I’m so sorry, I’ve got to run!”

John nodded understandingly and gave his friend a hug, savouring her touch for the brief moment he could. It was still surreal to be in the same room as someone he’d only ever spoken to online.

“I can walk you the rest of the way if you’d like,” Kanaya offered as Rose scurried off down the hall.

“Really? Thanks!”

Kanaya murmured a word of acknowledgement, and the two stayed on their path down the dimly lit hall. John immediately missed the light from the courtyard and the cafeteria. This narrow, almost gloomy corridor lacked the brilliance of the sunny outdoors, making John feel nigh claustrophobic.

“John?” Kanaya asked out of the blue, her voice sounding slightly nervous as she broke the silence.

“Yeah?”

The two kept their eyes focused straight ahead, but their attention was on each other.

“I’m quite sorry if I made an odd first impression back on the train. I was just…” she trailed off for a moment, but John understood what she was trying to say.

“That’s okay,” he said, “I get it. We’ve all got those things we can’t help.”

And he really did understand. He had a lot of things about himself that he couldn’t change, too.

“Really? Thank you. I just…” Kanaya laughed a little in spite of herself,  “I was hoping you’d like me.”

John looked over at the girl who was tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear to maintain the perfection of her appearance.

“I know your opinion means a lot to Rose, and… well it just wouldn't feel right if you didn’t think well of me.”

Taken aback by her sudden honesty, John placed a tentative hand on Kanaya’s shoulder. The gesture was a little awkward since they were still walking forward, but John hoped that his point got across properly.

“Well I do like you. You’re a pretty cool girl, Kanaya.”

She had turned her head away at this point, but John was pretty sure that he could see a smile creeping across her face.

“Thank you, John.”

“You’re welcome.”

***

_Monday, October 20th_  
 _[In the evening]_

\-- gallowsCalibrator [GC] began trolling arachnidsGrip [AG] at 11:43 --

GC: VR1SK4!! H4V3 YOU GOTT3N 4 LO4D OF TH3 N3W K1D??  
AG: No, I’ve 8een 8usy doing important things, actually.  
AG: Not that you would know anything a8out that.  
GC: H4 H4 H4 V3RY FUNNY  
GC: BUT S3R1OUSLY  
GC: H3 W4S S1TT1NG W1TH US 4T TH3 T4BL3 TOD4Y  
GC: 4ND GU3SS WH4T H3 W4S W34R1NG  
AG: Let me guess........  
AG: Something incredi8ly delicious in a flavor that you couldn’t keep your distur8ing little tongue off of.  
GC: NO >:[  
AG: It was that candy red, wasn’t it?  
AG: Oh I know how you love your 8oys with their candy red shirts.  
AG: Can’t seem to keep your little paws away from them.  
GC: NO!!  
AG: Like Dave, or........  
GC: DONT 3V3N TH1NK 4BOUT 1T  
AG: Alright ;;;;)  
AG: 8ut go on, since you’re aching to tell me a8out this outfit.  
GC: OH N3V3RM1ND  
GC: YOU WOULDNT C4R3 4NYW4YS  
GC: 1T W4S JUST ON3 OF THOS3 STUP1D GHOSTBUST3R SH1RTS YOU H4TE  
AG: I do h8 those........  
GC: BUT 1T DO3SNT 3V3N M4TT3R  
AG: You’ll have to introduce me to this kid.  
AG: He sounds completely detesta8le.  
GC: OH COM3 ON  
GC: L1K3 YOU N33D 4 N3W PUNCH1NG B4G VR1SK4  
GC: 1SNT ON3 POOR K1D 3NOUGH  
AG: Please. Tavros isn’t my punching 8ag, he’s my friend.  
AG: We’re pals!  
GC: MHM...  
AG: Whatever. I’d still like to meet him.  
AG: It’s not too often that we get new kids our age around here.  
GC: Y34H Y34H 1LL 1NTRODUC3 YOU 4T SOM3 PO1NT  
AG: Gr8 ::::)  
AG: Now go to sleep, it’s l8 and I can see your phone glowing from across the room.  
GC: H3H  
GC: S33 Y4 B1TCH >:]  
AG: L8r loser.  


\-- arachnidsGrip [AG] ceased being trolled by gallowsCalibrator [GC] at 12:02 --

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo! New character introduction! This brings us to the end of the exposition stage of the story, so be prepared for a small time jump in the next chapter. I hope you're all enjoying it so far, and feel free to let me know what you think :)
> 
> Also, follow my on Tumblr if you want: http://heyshortstack.tumblr.com/
> 
> Until next time!!!


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